The Bombay High Court has allowed Anurag Kashyap’s Bandar to release on OTT as scheduled on August 28, after a woman who has alleged rape against actor Karan Oberoi challenged the film’s streaming release.
Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order on August 27 in a civil suit filed by the woman, who alleged that Bandar appropriates and commercially exploits aspects of her personal experiences. She also sought to restrain the film’s release, arguing that its portrayal could affect public perception while related criminal proceedings remain pending.
The court did not grant the requested injunction. Instead, it accepted undertakings that the digital version of Bandar would carry disclaimer cards in both Hindi and English.
The disclaimers state that the film is fictionalised and is “not intended to represent the facts of any particular case.”
The woman’s case is connected to a rape complaint she filed against Oberoi in May 2019. During the proceedings, she alleged that Bandar incorporates elements of her personal story without her consent and identified 19 similarities between events in her life and the film. She also sought ₹2,600 crore in damages from parties associated with the film.
These allegations have not been established as facts by the court. The criminal proceedings relating to the 2019 complaint remain pending. The allegations concerning Bandar are also claims made in the civil proceedings and do not constitute findings against the filmmakers.
The filmmakers have maintained that Bandar is a fictionalised drama dealing with broader questions around accusations, public judgement and the criminal-justice system. The film centres on a television actor whose life changes after he is accused of rape.
The legal challenge came after the film had already completed its theatrical release. The High Court had declined to stay the film on August 24 and subsequently considered objections to particular scenes and the proposed disclaimer mechanism.
The August 27 order is significant for the manner in which it addresses the film’s transition from theatrical exhibition to streaming. Rather than stopping the digital release, the court accepted disclaimers as the safeguard accompanying the film’s OTT availability.
The order should not, however, be read as establishing a general legal rule that disclaimers will protect films based on real people or disputed events from injunctions or privacy claims. It concerns the particular dispute before the court and the undertakings recorded in that case.
For filmmakers, the case highlights the continuing legal questions that can arise when fictional works are alleged to draw substantially on the experiences of identifiable real people. Privacy, reputation, the impact on pending proceedings and creative freedom can remain contested even after a film has been certified and theatrically released.
Bandar, starring Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Saba Azad and others, was released theatrically in June. The film is scheduled to stream on ZEE5 from August 28.
